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Appalachian Blessings

The Tyranny of Time

When I was little, my grandmother often told me that time picks up speed as you get older.

She was right.

But while I’ve become more aware of the passage of time and how quickly it flies by, the increasing speed doesn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. I got to pondering this recently when I heard a well-known writer speak about how she decides what to write next.

She talked about how she looks for an idea that’s worth the time it will take her to write it and equally worth the time it will take her fans to read it. Very considerate, I thought.

She went on to elaborate, saying that as she’s gotten older, she’s become acutely aware of time and how little of it she ultimately has. She doesn’t want to waste even a minute.

Which got me to thinking about some writing I’ve done that may never see the light of day. Was that a waste of time? Did I fritter away a valuable commodity? Should I be more like this author, measuring and weighing my time like gold, spending it only on what is truly worthy?

And that’s when it hit me. As precious as time seems, I actually have an unlimited supply. Oh, sure, I’ll die one of these days and time as I know it will end, but then . . . eternity.

I don’t know what eternity will be like. I can glean a few things here and there in the Bible and from what I can tell there will be a new earth and we’ll have work to do–jobs if you will. I don’t know if I’ll get to write, although the Bible mentions music, so why not literature, too?

But if I don’t get to write ever again, I have a pretty strong notion I won’t mind a bit.

Now, I’m not suggesting that I shouldn’t be a good steward of my resources, including time. I’m only saying that I don’t have to fret over every moment. God can redeem anything–including wasted time. (And what seem like wasted words.)

I get in a hurry. I wish I had more time for X or Y. I regret what looks, to me, like a waste of time. But God has forever and thanks to Christ, so do I.

I Corinthians 2:9 – But as it is written, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard,and no mind has imagined the things that God has preparedfor those who love him.”